What They Are Watching in the States: Biden-Harris Administration Continues to Invest Across America

This week, folks across the country saw the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to investing in communities, strengthening our economy, and prioritizing safety across the country.

On Monday, President Biden announced an additional $1.3 billion in funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, totaling his administration's contributions to $17 billion.

WDHN (Dothan, Alabama): "Now this morning, we're learning President Joe Biden announced record-breaking funding for HBCU colleges at the national HBCU week conference, Biden announced 1.3 billion dollars in the in new money for historically black colleges and universities bringing total federal funding to a record 17 billion dollars during his term. The funding will used a pair students with different industries with an emphasis on federally granted programs that help with careers in STEM jobs, in engineering, in cybersecurity."

On Tuesday, federal fire experts briefed President Biden on the intensification of wildfire season across the nation and his administration's actions to control fires across the West.

KBAK (Bakersfield, California): "Today, federal officials briefed President Biden on efforts to respond to this year's intense wildfire season. according to the national interagency fire center, there are currently 56 active wildfires across the nation, the largest right here in California. The briefing, which included Governor Newsom, comes as cooler weather is helping firefighters gain ground. Last week, the Biden administration announced $100 million for 21 new projects to expand the forest service's wildfire crisis strategy. President Biden says the focus is on protecting people, property and firefighters."

On Wednesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Granholm announced $72 million from the Inflation Reduction Act in Maine and launched their new home energy rebate program which will help Americans save money on their energy bills.

WCSH (Portland, Maine): "U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm visited Maine today to announce the launch of a new rebate program. $71.7 million in federal funding will go toward two different energy rebate programs both with the goal of helping households upgrade to clean energy equipment like heat pumps. The program is now expanding eligibility to include low income owners and manufactured homes as well as affordable multifamily homes. Eligible homeowners could say could be able to save as much as $14,000 in upgrades through those rebates."

On Thursday, President Biden delivered a speech on the important milestone in our economic recovery, with inflation and interest rates falling while the economy remains strong. The President discussed his work to rescue the economy from the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and his continued work to lower costs and grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.

Spectrum News (Los Angeles, California): "US stocks soared Thursday. The day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half point, President Joe Biden praised the rate cut while speaking to the Economic Club in Washington, DC and said his work is not yet done. 'As you all know, inflation was 9.1 %. the United States today is much closer to 2 %. That doesn't mean our work is done. Far from it. More good news for the economy first time jobless claims fell last week from 231,000 to 219,000 the labor market has slowed in recent months, which was a factor in the Fed's decision to cut interest rates for the first time.'"

On Friday, the Biden-Harris administration announced $3 billion for 25 battery manufacturing projects across 14 states that will strengthen our manufacturing sector and bring jobs back to America.

Spectrum News (Louisville, Kentucky): "Just announced today, Kentucky is one of 14 states that will receive federal dollars for battery manufacturing. The Biden administration is sending over 3 billion dollars to those states with the goal of creating roughly 12,000 jobs."